That's one of 14 phone calls and
emails that I received objecting to the newspaper headline above my column: "Go
ahead, texting driver, make my day."

You see, I referred to Norris in my
column (It started with me saying, "I'm not trying to sound like Chuck Norris) but
the headline referenced Eastwood's Dirty Harry Character.

Well, as the saying goes, if you
spell Chuck Norris wrong on Google it doesn't say, "Did you mean Chuck
Norris?" It simply replies, "Run while you still have the
chance."

Far be it from me to make Mr. Norris
angry. (Psst! In case he asks, I didn't write the headline.)

Of course, the column also elicited
a great deal of response about Oregon's unique law allowing anyone to write a
citizen citation to a traffic scofflaw.

Well, not all scofflaws.

Some readers pointed out that it
would be nearly impossible to go after bicyclists for blowing through red
lights or committing other offenses that they deemed a safety hazard. "They
don't have license plates," more than one reader pointed out.

Indeed, you would probably
need to personally know the bicyclist in order to file a citizen citation
against a person on a bicycle. And that, of course, presents some other, ahem, uncomfortable
challenges.

As an alternative to dragging him or
her into court, maybe the neighborly thing would be to just politely mention
something to your two-wheeled acquaintance. You know, how you're worried about their safety and all.

On OregonLive, Vintagegirl wrote: "I consistently see bicyclists riding down
the middle of my street either IPOD buds in their ears, and, my personal
favorite, texting or talking on their cell phones with no hands on
their handle bars. I know we are the grooviest place to ride a bike in
the country, but.......could that possibly legal?"

Yes. And yes. In Oregon, it is not illegal for a bicyclist to use a handheld cellphone to talk or text. Nor is listening to music through headphones against the law.

As the column pointed out, many cops
don't even know about the DIY ticket law or how to use it.

Several road users said they felt
empowered by the column's how-to directions, even if they never pursue a
citation (which is extremely time consuming).

John L wrote: "It is high time that those of us that try to practice
responsible driving, have the direction we need to help make our commutes
safer. If we just enforced the laws we currently have, like driving and
texting/talking, running red lights, lane jumping and so many other infractions,
we would most certainly have a more robust local government. Instead, we do
with fewer and fewer police and judges, and the scofflaws go on with their
business. The level of ignorance, selfishness and narcissism that is displayed
by those that continue to text/talk and drive, is outrageous."

Others, however, don't like the law
at all.

"How do
most of these z-cites amount to more than he said she said?" wrote an
OregonLive reader gong by "Seriously ..." "Writing traffic citations and gaining
a conviction is a little more complex than this article portrays. If you say I
was texting and I say I wasn't, where is the evidence? After all I'm innocent
until you PROVE me guilty."

As
part of the process, you would get your day in court and the person accusing
you would have to convince the judge that you were doing what they say you were
doing. At the same, the law says every citizen is a traffic cop. A sworn and
signed citation is the same as a citation given out by an officer on patrol.

That
means if you're accused of texting while, you might be asked by the offended
citizen or judge to present a phone bill showing you weren't engaged in the
activity at the time listed on the citation.

At
the same time, a "Patrick_D," who identified himself as an attorney online,
said he was confident that he would "easily defeat a layman hero-wannabe
accuser, but let's put this aside for a second. Ask yourself this, is this the
kind of society you want? If it is, then I hope it happens to you. "

By
"you," he meant me.

Other
readers said they thought it would be better to just anonymously call their local
Aggressive Driving Hotline. In
Beaverton, for example, it's 503-526-2231. The recording promises to use the
supplied information to send the registered owner a warning letter about their
driving behavior and education materials.

A
few readers also seemed to think I was implying that ORS 153.058 is a new law.

It's not.

It has been on the books for
decades. In fact, it hasn't been changed since 1999, when the Legislature tinkered
with it so that citizens can write citations only for traffic violations.
(That's right, Oregonians can no longer write up their neighbors for violating
local noise ordinances because of a barking dog.)

As a member of the state judiciary
committee, Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, voted for the revamp of the
citizen-citation law 13 years ago. However, when contacted by phone last year,
should didn't know much about the law's history or why it was changed.

In fact, she had forgotten that the
citizen-citation statute is on the books. " "Something happened to me on the
road the other day where I could have used it," she said. "I wish I remembered
that law. I could have used it."

Well, Senator, hopefully you at gave them a tough Chuck Norris stare.

You know what they say: "Chuck Norris beat the sun in a staring contest."